Before Hero's of Olympus
by UleBLEH
Summary: What happened at Camp Jupiter BEFORE the Hero's of Olympus? This is just my interpretation of Jason's years at Camp, starting at the time Reyna comes along. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**One day I thought, what happened at camp Jupiter before the hero's of Olympus? Rick Riordan should really make some books off of that after HoO. Then I realized, why not make one myself?! I really appreciate reviews. So please read and, most of all, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Percy Jackson (sadly). I don't even know if I own this idea.**

I don't remember anything before my time at Camp Jupiter. Family, friends, home, none of it. The most I can recall is a huge statue of a bearded man in a toga, looming over me on a would-be beautiful day. He glowered over me as if to say, _I'm in charge of all, and anyone that __defys__ me __will be crushed. _Not someone you would want to meet.

Not that I had the choise.

After the grumpy toga guy, the next thing I can remember is the wolves. They came from the forest, growling and bearing their teeth. They prowled in a circle around me, almost as if they were sizing me up to see what the 2 year old me was made of. Which of course they were.

One of the wolves in the very front growled at another, who lifted me onto his back. The pack lept into the forest into the darkness, and I remember the feeling of the wolves' powerful muscles under my tiny toddler fist. The wolves raced through the underbrush for what felt like hours, yet they never slowed. Well, until we reached the clearing.

Ruble filled the clearing in the distinguished shape of a "U". Charred planks and other material stood pitch black agenst the faint light of the full moon. Looking back on it now, I know it was a house. But back then, I only knew it as a training ground.

Every morning, I would be expected to rise early. Catch food, take care of myself etc, etc. I was taught to read others and nature, to be sensitive to my surroundings. And most if all, how to fight.

I was a child, so i did what the other children in the pack did; trained. All day, everyday, rain or shine, hot or cold, the wolves didn't care. They showed constant strength in every situation, and that is what they were training me to do. Only the best could make it in Lupa's training. And only the best of the best would make it to the Legion.

Even though I was only 2, Lupa, the head of the pack, showed me no mercy. This was her test, and weather or not I passed was up to me. And I probably wouldn't have without the help of Remus, the smallest of the wolves, named after the original Remus. Just like my namesake is the original Jason, from Jason and the Argonauts. This particular wolf took an interest in me, as if he knew that if now I was no super star now, I could be destin for great things. Remeus helped me through my tasks, and when I was sent to California, I was almost sad.

I was about 5 around the time Lupa deemed me fit to join the Legion. It had taken me longer than normal to develop any skills as I was young when I started. But I was lucky I made it out when I did, because if you stay with Lupa too long, you will be a perfect fit for a midnight snack.

The only good thing about being one if he youngest Lupa has ever trained; the cute factor. Making big puppy eyes and saying in a small voice that Mommy and Daddy sent me to California to meet Grandma in he Bay Area got me a quick ride to the Caldecott Tunnel,and the entrance to camp.

I am Jason Grace. And this is my story.

**Short! Short short short. I am ashamed at the shortness of this chapter. Not that it really is a chapter, it's a prologue. But I will try to update soon, so stay tuned! And guess what my 2nd favorite thing is?! (After Percy Jackson series). Reviews! Take the 2 seconds to type something, a suggestion, anything would make my day! So thanks for reading! See ya soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting on top of the half-built tower for the war games could have been dangerous. The supports could have collapsed, the fire squirpions could have gotten loose, really the dangers were endless. Especially an 11 year old boy. But not an 11 year old _flying_ boy.

I scanned the camp, viewing the battle field, the barracks, the Little Tiber, and finally New Rome. A very city, hidden in the middle of a valley, protected by none other than the 12th Legion of Rome. Roman style buildings stretched all through the town, oddly mixed with modern McDonalds.

My eyes wandered until I see the Senate House. All the centurions (and the 2 praetors, Madelyn and Cole) rushed out of the building. Everyone looked at Madelyn; she had been Praetor longest. She and Cole lead everyone out of New Rome and towards the Little Tiber, grabbing their weapons as they went. Looking out to the river and the entrance if camp, a small group was forming around a single figure.

I used the winds to guide myself to the ground. Yeah, I can do that. Just an added bonus to come with all pressure.

You're probably wondering, why don't I just fly the whole way? Well, to fly the mile from the War Games to the Little Tiber would be like running three times that distance. Why waste energy you could use latter?

Anyways, I ran through the camp to see what all the commotion was about. As I reach the scene, I ran into my best (and maybe only) friend, Eli.

Eli had dark brown hair, almost black, that was wild and taggled acrossed his forehead. He had eyes, that every time you looked at them, were a different color; blue, green, grey. He was almost always wearing a sarcastic smile on his face, that maked him look like a smart elec, which didn't fit his nature. Eli wasn't a smart elec; he was a trouble maker.

"Hey, what's all this about a new camper?" I asked.

"I dunno. These poop nuggets won't get out of the way," Eli answered.

I laughed. That was just typical Eli; weird, and annoying enough to drive others away. The weirdness probably came from his dad, Apollo, god of the sun. But weird was good for me, being the only son of Jupiter to be born since the Big Three pac. I was weird; Eli was weird. We were a perfect match.

I crained my neck trying to see over the now thick crowd. Finally I got fed up and just pushed my way past other campers, earning glares as u went. I reached the from of the crowd and froze.

Standing with a sword pulled in the center of the arch of romans, was a girl. I could tell from her stance she was nervous, but trying to hide it under the feirce face of a warrior. Her eyes were dark as night, with striking raven hair to match? She swung her sword back and forth, slowly pointing it at camper.

"Hey," Eli said, appearing next to me "She's kinda cute." He nugged my arm, raising his eyebrows at me. I just rolled my eyes.

"Who-who are you people?" The girl asked.

Cole crossed him arms. "We could ask you the same question."

The girl flited her eyes through the crowd, eventually landing on me. I locked eyes with her, and tried to tell her, _Its okay._ She seemed to understand.

The girl straightened herself up to reveal her true height. "I am Reyna Conners, daughter of Bellona, the roman goddess of war,"

"Hi," I surprised even myself as I stepped forward, "I am Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, member of the 12th Leigon and 5th cohort."

All the centurions and praetors gave me weird looks. I'm just a fithy, a member of the 5th cohort. I'm not really the one that's supposed to step forward to welcome a new member to camp. But what's done is done. Better to keep going.

"Welcome to Camp Jupiter. You'll be safe here," I told her. She nodded.

"Uh, um," Cole started to take back control "We need someone to show you around camp. Cynthia-"

Cole gets cut off by Madelyn "No. Let Jason."

I looked at Madylin with a mix of surprise and confusion. Madylin just smiled and nodded.

I turned back to Reyna. She was studying me, sizing me up.

"Okay," Reyna said, sheathing her sword "Lets go."

We turned to head over to the barracks, when I heard a screeching sound coming from the entrance to camp. We turned back around pulling weapons simultaneously.

The creatures we were facing were some of the weirdest I had ever seen. They had the bodies of heyenas, but huge wings that allowed them to glide smoothly through the air. Gryphons. A few were easy to take, but around 2 dozen? Questionable.

The creatures descended upon us, using long claws and sharp teeth to attack. Unfortunetly, only a few campers had thought to bring weapons. I mean, this is supposed to be a Roman army!

"No...they followed me!" Reyna said worriedly.

I ignored, and started slashing and hacking at anything that flies. I saw Reyna next to me, also stabbing violently. She was pretty good, not to have had previous training. I was going to have to ask about that on her tour.

Within minutes the gryphons begin to flee. They took off in a black cloud, and I was just about to revel in victory when I heard a scream. I looked up into the flock and saw the withering body of a camper in the claws of a monster. The figure twist and I catch a glimps of the persons face. The impish grin that was usually there, is gone, replaced with a look of pure terror.

Eli.

"No!" I yell. I run, about to use the winds to guide me into the sky, when I feel someone grab my arm.

"No. What could you do? You can't fly!" Reyna told me.

"Yes I can!" I told her, trying to get out of her grasp. She gives me a weird look, debut doesn't let go.

"And when you get up there what are you going to do? Get yourself carried along with him? There's too manly for one person," Reyna told me, and I knew she was right. As we spoke, Eli was getting farther and farther away.

**DUN DUN DUUUN! Poor Eli... But what will happen next? Please review with your thoughts!**


	3. Chapter 3

As I walked through camp giving Reyna the standard new camper tour, I tried to focus on her questions.

"What are the War Games?"

"Capture the flags with weapons. We play tonight."

"Is that Rome?"

"New Rome."

"Okay...and that is?"

"A new Rome."

"Are those unicorns?"

"Yeah."

Okay. Maybe I didn't try that hard. But in my defense, my best friend was just carried away by flying hyenas! What was I supposed to do, just forget about it?

"Should we go ask the praetors about your friend?"

"Yeah," I say and keep walking.

Reyna stops. "Well? Are you coming?"

"Wha?" I asked looking back at Reyna.

"Are you coming? To ask the praetors about you friend who got carried away by the gryphons?" Reyna asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, um, okay... When did this happen?" I asked.

"Like five seconds ago..." Reyna says.

"Oh. Yeah," I said.

"It's okay," Reyna laughs. "I knew you weren't paying attention. But I still think we should ask if someone's going to do something about your friend. What was his name?"

"Eli," I said, trying to keep my voice from cracking but it didn't really work.

Thankfully, Reyna ignored my voice crack. "Eli. If we're going to save him, we better get going. So, where's the praetors office?"

"It's over there but...you said "we"..." I said uneasily.

"What did you think? I was going to let you handle this on your own?" Reyna asked. She turned around and started walking towards the praetors office. When I didn't follow, due to shock, Reyna turned around to face me. "So. Are you coming?" Reyna asked. I shook my head, and followed.

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"You _what_?" Cole asked.

"We _what_?" I asked.

Reyna stood a little straighter and repeated what she had just said.

"We want a quest to save Eli," She says.

"You've been here what, two hours? And you want a _quest_?" Cole asked.

"Yes."

Reyna and Cole stand face to face, seeing which one of them will back down first.

Looking at them, they could have been twins. Same straight, black hair, both of them tall. They had the same proud look in their eyes, that would never back down in a fight. Their jaws, when in arguments, were set fast and they always looked you right in the eye.

"How will the Leigon benifet from this quest? I mean, why spend money on a quest to save _one measley demigod_," Cole asks.

"Eli is _not_ just one measley demigod," I said angrily. Now I want this quest, not just because of Eli, but to prove Cole wrong at something. He always got has way.

Madelyn seemed on my side. "Hey, Eli seems to matter more to Jason and Reyna than you might think. I say we think about it for a week and see how Reyna does in the War Games, and if they can find anything important about Eli's location. And I think you should consider your prophocy... And haven't you been having some dreams about-"

"Okay!" Cole cut Madelyn off before we could hear about his dream. What dream could possibly be so bad Reyna and I couldn't hear about it?

"We will view their progress over the course of the week. And let me tell you, you better put on a heck of a show, because of now, my vote on weather or not this thing is gonna happen is no," Cole told us with a glint of hatred in his eyes. Cole wanted a show, so a show he was going to get.

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"Come on," I told Reyna "I want to show you something."

I lead us to the city of New Rome, and we were about to pass the boundary line, when we ran into Terminus.

"Hey! You! I will not be having weapons inside the Pomerian Line!"

Reyna turned to the statue of Terminus, god of boundaries. She looked the statue up and down, then decided it was him who had talked.

"So? What are you going to do to me?" Reyna asked.

Terminus got really serious. "You don't want to know."

Here we go. Reyna was going to bring IT up.

"Um... You don't have any arms...or legs..." She said.

Terminus looked like a fish out of water, gulping for air. Then he regained his angry expression.

"You...you should not have said that. You really shouldn't have said that..."

He closed his eyes to concentrate. A second later in a flash of light, Reyna was shot back, knocking into me, and causing both of us to tumble to the ground.

"Ha ha," Terminus scoffed "That's what you get for messing with the almighty Terminus!"

Reyna got up, scowling, and I was soon to follow. We continued past Terminus, being careful to drop off our weapons as we went.

"Why didn't you say something? About Terminus?" Reyna demanded.

I looked over at her. She had that fierce look in her eyes that demanded an answer. It was scary, but kind of cute at the same time.

"I wanted to see if you could figure it out or not," I told her.

Reyna cocked her head. "What do you mean, 'figure it out?'"

"There's something different about you, you know that? It's not everyday a new camper comes who knows exactly who their parent is, how to use a weapon, and almost nothing surprises you. Your different," I told her. Reyna just sighed.

"This isn't the first safe place for demigods I've been to," she told me a little warily.

"What... What do you mean? There _is_ no other safe place..." I told her.

"Well...there's this island. In the middle of the Sea of Monsters. It's the home of the immortal daughter of Hecate, Circe. That's where my sister Hylla and I went after our fathers death. Our mom lead us there, and...we were safe. In exchange for our service, Circe protected us. Everything was fine, until one day a boy and a girl came on a quest from some camp. They were obviously demigods. The girl outsmarted Circe and figured out that her friend had been turned into a guinea pig-"

"Guinea pig?"

"Yeah long story. But long story short, they escaped, and so did Blackbeard and his pirates, taking Hylla and I captive with them. We quickly learned to fight, so they kept us alive until we reached land and escaped. Mom told me to find Lupa, and Hylla to find the Amazons. So we went our separate ways, and I ended up here." Reyna finished.

"Wow...do you ever miss Circe's island?" I asked.

"Sometimes. But it's more that I miss my sister than the island." Reyna said.

"Well I know you'll love it here," I told her.

"Thanks..." Reyna said, trailing off.

But there was still something bothering me. "Do you...do you have to turn me into a guinea pig now?"

Reyna laughed. "No...but I could!"

My eyes widened. "What...?"

Just kidding," Reyna said "I lost any magic I had when I left the island."

"Well that's too bad. We could have used that on our quest..." I pointed out.

The mood went dark. We walked the rest of the way through New Rome in silence. We finally reached the top of the hill at the edge of the city.

"Wow...it's beautiful," Reyna said in awe.

Looking off the terrace, you could see the beautiful Garden of Bacchus. All over were colors of all kinds. Pinks as deep as rhubarb. Blues as dark as the night sky, or as light as the morning. Vines so bright a green, they almost shine, with full purple grapes. The sun shone down through the canopy of leafs, casting intricate shadows on the ground below. Beautiful.

Well except for the Bacchus statue, positioned in a ballet pose.

"This is my favorite spot," I said "The Garden of Bacchus."

We just stood there for a little while, taking in the view.

"Do you bring every new camper here?" Reyna asked.

"No," I said "But I had to ask you; why do you care so much about a quest to find Eli?"

Reyna hesitated before answering. "It's not that I don't want to help Eli. I do, but there are some things I need figure out, and I think there's more to this than we might think. I just don't know what, but I'm going to figure it out."

"Okay," I said simply.

After that we just stood there, enjoying the calm, lost in thought.

**Okay! Next up is War Games! Who will be victorious?! And how is this all connected...**


	4. Chapter 4

"Before dinner, they will call you up," I whispered to Rena as they called roll. "They are going to ask the cohorts if anyone would like to stand for you. What that means, is if anyone would like to take responsibility for you, and accept you into their cohort. One thought three are the best, so get into one of those if you can, but if you no one stands for you, I can stand for you- I mean, if you want, but I'm only in the Fifth," I finished, a little embarrassed. Reyna nodded.

"But if you can, get into a higher cohort," I reinforced, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.

Reyna looked over at me, confused. "Whats wrong with the Fourth and Fifth cohorts?" she asked.

I sighed, not really wanting to tell Reyna the truth. But she deserved it, no matter how much it embarrassed me.

I took a deep breath. "The First, Second, and Third cohorts only accept the best. The ones with fighting skills, and letters if recommendation from older demigods already though the Legion. The Fourth and Fifth are kind of like...the leftovers, the ones that no one else wants. But you can't just leave them, or should I say me or us? Anyways all demigods can be valuable to the Legion."

"But that doesn't make sense," Reyna said. "From what I saw earlier with the gryphons you're a pretty good fighter. And you just told me you're in the Fifth."

I shrugged. "I was only five when I entered the Legion. See?" I showed her my arm, with the tattoo of the eagle, with nine black bars below."One stripe for every year at camp. Well except for the three extra, the arguer got a little confused..."

Reyna laughed.

"Yeah... But not many people want a little kid to take care of. I was lucky someone stood for me at all. And that was only some girl who thought it would be fun to play dress-up with me," I scowled, and Reyna tried to hide her laughter. Funny how I could only make her laugh with my embarrassment.

Madelyn finished taking roll. She looked up and in Reyna and I's direction. She smiled, catching Reyna's eye, and winked.

"As some of you may know, we have a new camper; Reyna Conners, daughter of the Roman goddess of war Bellona. Reyna, if you would come up here..." Madelyn asked.

I gave Reyna a thumbs-up and she made her way to the front to where Madelyn and Cole stood.

"So before the War Games," Madelyn said, "We need to get Reyna into a cohort. Would anyone like to stand for her?" She asked, looking around.

Silence.

A minute later, someone spoke up from the First cohort. "Hey! Why doesn't the Fifthy take him. The freaky Jupiter kid!"

Octavian. The stupid descendent of Apollo. He was always butting into other people's business, trying to get some dirt on them. So far, I had been careful and Octavian didn't have anything on me, but he sure was trying. One time I even caught him hiding behing the barracks listening to one of my conversations. Anything for dirt on Jupiters son. He had tried to pass it off by saying he lost his phone, but demigods don't even _have_ phones. I didn't question it; Octavian was in line for the position of Augur, saying he supposedly had the "rare gift of prophecy."

After Octavian stated his "very valuable opinion", all heads turned to me. I was obviously the Freaky Jupiter Kid from the Fifth.

"I...um...I..." I was lost for words, that's what. But I didn't want to claim Reyna just yet; She still had a chance for a higher cohort.

"Yeah!" Shouted someone from the Third. "They're like BFF's, put them both in the same cohort!"

"I agree with Third, we have to keep all the losers in one place or else it will spread! Like a disease!" Someone from the Second called. The whole time, there rest of the Fifth stood, silent, with their heads down, defeated, while other campers chimed in their opinion on the Fifth. Roll had taken a turn to Make-Fun-Of-The-Fifth Vill.

Reyna, however, stood at the front, at the head of hundreds of campers, her face a compleat mask. If she was trying to look indifferent, she was pulling it off just fine. Her straight face, proud posture, and a look in her eyes as if she were almost bored. Stareing strait off into the distance, not saying a word. And if she wasn't going to say something, I was.

I stepped up. "Hey, lay off, you have no reason to pick at Reyna! She's been here a day! You can't possibly have anything agenst her!" I called defiantly. But as I as said it, I knew that they _did_ have a reason to hate Reyna. The higher cohorts liked people with potential, not already proven abilities. Thay were all about competition, and never wanted to be outshone by someone new. And Reyna would have burned them to a crisp.

The bickering continued until finally Cole stepped forward. "Everyone! Shut up!" he commanded. Then, as an afterthought, "Gods, you guys were giving me a headache..." he added while rubbing his temples.

"Cole's right," Madelyn said, "Enough fighting, there will be plenty of time for that later in the War Games. We need to settle this and get Reyan in a cohort. I want no talking, unless you want to stand for Reyna, or you will be on stable patrol for a week."

This brought silence. No one wanted a week of Pegasus Patrol. But the problem was, that it didn't seem that anyone wanted Reyna either.

_Now or never_, I thought and stepped forward. "I will stand for Reyna Conners."

Madelyn smiled. "Okay. Reyna Conners, you-" She broke off.

"Finally," I head Octavian mutter. He seemed to things no one could hear him, but Madelyn sure did.

"What was that Octavian? Do you wish to stand for Reyna also? Or are you just in the mood for shoveling Pegasus poop?" Madelyn asked mockingly. This brought a few snickers from some other enemy's of Octavian. So pretty much almost everyone.

_This was a good thing_, I told the sinking feeling in my stomach. _She will get to choose between First and Fifth, and with the sense I can tell she has, she will make it into a higher cohort. No, not just a higher one, but the _best_ cohort_.

Octavian had developed a very deep interest in his shoes. He was now faced with embarracement by defeat, or embearracement by Pegasus.

"I- Well-Um..." He stuttered.

"Do you stand for Reyna or not?" Cole asked as if he could care less, obviously ready to get on with dinner.

"Um...yes," Octavian muttered to his shoes.

Madelyn turned to Reyna. "A double stand. That means you get to choose your cohort. I would consider this very carefully, as it could make it break it for you at this camp."

"I choose the Fifth," Reyna said without a moments hesitation. Everyone gasped and started muttering quietly to each other.

_No_! I locked eyes with Reyna and tried to ask her, _why, what is there in the Fifth that is better, or even compares with the First? _Reyna just gives me a slight smile.

Cole really didn't seem interested in anything that didn't concern him. "Dinner!" He called, and everyone wandered off to their tables, still wondering about the girl who chose Fifth over First.

I pushed my way agenst the tide of the crowd to get to Reyna. She watched me, smirking.

"What was that?" I demanded. "You had the change for the _best cohort_, and you turned it down for the worst."

"I wouldn't say that." Reyna said knowingly, as we went to find a place to sit.

"What do you mean?" I asked as we sat down. "First has the best warriors, the highest ranking officers, they always win the War Games, how is that not better than the _Fifth_," I said, as if the Fifth was the worst word I could think of.

The wind nymphs breezed by (literally) dropping off a burger in front of each of us. Reyna took a bite and chewed thoughtfully.

"I think...that while that may be true...the Fifth has what really matters. Friendship, unity, teamwork, they just have to learn how to use it. And I think they-we, could pull it together, we just need a few good leaders, and I have a good idea who," Reyna said, starting off slow, but gaining confidence as she went on.

"Well our centurions are Paige and Max-" I started to say, but Reyna cut me off.

"No. I meant you, stupid," Reyna said teasingly, but I could tell she meant it. The part about me being a good leader, not the stupid part. Then again, it could be that too.

But I stared at Reyna in aghast anyways. "You mean...me? If anyone, it would be you, you're the natural leader, I can tell already," I said.

"Maybe that's true," Reyna agreed, "but you seemed pretty in command earlier. Standing up to Cole, fighting off the gryphons, speaking up at roll. Did you see Paige or Max do any of that? I'm surprised you aren't in charge around here; no one else even welcomed me in. You are a leader, but you just don't know it."

"Huh," I puzzled, "I've never thought of it that way before."

"Well you'd better learn look on the other side of the lines."

**I am the worst person ever. Never mind, I take that back. I'll let all the other people that have said that take the prize for it. But still. It's been what, a week since I last updated? I apollogize, but I just switched schools, had the worst day ever and guess what I have next week! Staar testing! And yes they spell it with two a's for you non-texans. AND I know I promised War Games were next but I was going on with this and I didn't want to cut it short and I wanted to get something posted but I PROMISE the War Games WILL BE NEXT! By the way, I started the Mortal Instruments series and THEY ARE AMAZING. But still not as good as Percy Jackson, nothing an compare. Simon is my favorite ;) if he were alive (and I mean not fictional, not like not undead) I would call him my buddy! But Magnus Bane... Wow. He is something...**

**And I haven't done it in a couple of chapters, but IIIIIIIII OOOOOWWWWWNNNNN wait for it...NOTHING!**


	5. Chapter 5

"3...2...1...CHARGE!" Max yelled, leading the Fifth cohort into battle. We all followed reluctantly, not very excited for another night of loosing. I was surprised that it made a difference by now. We had lost so many War Games already, that one more defeat added to the pile didn't seem like too big of a deal to me.

We were running towards the fort, which tonight looked like a mid-evil castle, compleat with a moat of alligators, watch towers, and those cursed fire scorpions circled around the fort, but behind the moat, far enough away from it to be protected from the water. Wouldn't want them getting wet.

I began thinking of strategies. Obviously, being the son of Jupiter, water was a big no-no, so swimming was out. And if swimming was out, so was trying to break down the front door like most people were trying to do. That wouldn't have been the best plan anyways.

I could always try to build something to get across. Maybe get one of the Vulcan kids too come with me. But that would never work. Huh.

"Jason!" Reyna finally yelled in my ear. I had been so involved in my plans, I forgot about Reyna. "Where are we going? What's our goal?" She asked, keeping perfect pace with me even though I had been at camp six years, and she had only even been in the demigod world however-many years. Her armor was perfect too. How she did it I don't know. My armor is _never_ straight.

"You see that big fort?" I asked, pointing to the castle-like structure. "That's where the other team is keeping the flag. All we have to do is get it."

Reyna nodded. "Sounds easy."

I snorted. "Yeah. As easy as getting past Dakota and taking his kool-aid."

"Who?" Reyna asked, confused.

"Oh yeah, you don't know Dakota yet. You'll meet him later. But the point is, it's not easy getting the Fourth and Fifth past the First, Second, and Third. Most nights we get pummeled to pulp," I said.

Reyna considered this. "So..." She finally said. "You say you can fly...?"

The next thing I knew, Reyna and I were sneaking into the forest, about a mile away from the huge battlefield. If we were going to try an air assault, it would be better not to just zip up into the sky in the middle of the battlefield. Once under the cover of the green foliage, I grabed Reyna's hand and we shot into the air. I took us higher than I normally would, so we wouldn't be as noticeable from the ground.

I looked over at Reyna and saw her face lit up like the setting sun. She was trying to hide it and pass it off like, _oh flying, no biggie_. But then we passed a flock of the giant eagles, flying around on rescue duty, and her pokerface faultered. Reyna's face lit up with a smile. She looked _so_ much better when she smiled. Younger, not as serious as if she really were 11 and hadn't been through loosing her dad, her sister, and her home.

We were almost to the fort when a voice behind us made me jump.

I turned around to see Madelyn on her pegesus, refereeing the game. I stopped us in midair.

"Hey Jason. Nice one, with the sneaking up on the fort by air. Smart," Madelyn said, giving a nod of approval.

I shook my head. "It wasn't my idea, Madelyn. Reyna came up with it."

"Well," Madelyn said, surprised but pleased. "Good to see we have a great new member-to-be of the Legion."

Reyna smiled and nodded. "Thank you, I am glad to be here."

I smiled and waved goodbye as I pushed us forward and back on track for the fort. I put on a gust of speed, trying to make up for lost time. Not that approval was a waste, but new needed to get back to battle.

A minute later, I landed Reyna and I on top of the North guard tower. I immediately pulled Reyna down with me, crouching behind a small wall. If one of the other three guards had looked our way, they would spot us and sound the alarm, and all our work on the plan would have been for nothing.

We kept low and crept over to the stairs that lead down to where the lookout was. Reyna and I pulled out our swords, and I lead the way down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as I could.

I was three steps from the bottom. I could see the guard at his post by the window. By this time it was dark, and the only light came from torches hung on the wall, casting an orange light over the grey stones that made up the fort. I stepped down on the next step and...it creeked. A high, long, ear splitting, possible dream crushing squeak. I winced at the sound as the guard turned around. The firelight bathed his evil grin in an evil glow.

Octavian, yet again. He pulled a sword from his belt. "Jason Grace... My old friend. And who's that behind you? Is that you new friend? Glad you found someone new to replace you old one. The one that got carried away by the gryphons...Eli."

I felt my face go red. Octavian smiled, knowing he had hit a nerve. But that smile didn't last long though. A dark shadow dashed from behind me, and in a flash of gold, brought down the butt of a sword on Octavians feathered helmet. He crumpled to the ground, leaving a smirking Reyna standing over him.

"That felt good. I've been wanting to do that ever since I met him." She said.

I was surprised. "Where did you learn to do _that_?" I asked.

"Just something I saw the two demigods do on Circe's island. I've been wanting to try it out, and this was the perfect opportunity. Why? Is it not aloud?" Reyna asked.

"No, no, that's not it. It's just that I wanted to do it to. You beat me to it." I said, grinning.

"Well okay then," Reyna said smiling. "Should we go get that flag?"

I hefted my sword. "You know it."

We had snuck down into the debths of the fort, just wandering around trying to find out where the flag was. Apparently the First, Second, and Third were pretty confident about their other defenses; we hadn't met a single guard after Octavian. We were feeling pretty good, having lasted this long on our own, when we found our way into a huge room like a hotel lobby without the decorations. It was compleatly, utterly empty. Reyna and I's footsteps echoed of the high ceilings as we walked to the middle of the room. I walked over to one of the doors that went off the room and opened it. All that was behind it was a blank wall. Great.

That's when Reyna walked over to another. She opened it and gasped.

"Jason... It's here! The flag!"

I raced over to Reyna and saw the flag, casually proped up agenst the wall of the closet.

"So can we just...take it?" I wondered aloud.

"I guess..." Reyna said warily. I reached out to grab the flag. My fingers just barely touched it, when an alarm blared. In a blink of an eye we were surrounded by at least a dozen enemy's, maybe more.

"Great," I muttered. I sighed and pulled my sword, my other hand grasping the flag.

"Attack?" Reyna asked, grabbing her sword.

"Attack," I confirmed, and we charged at the others.

Two minutes. Two minutes was all it took for us to be disarmed and captured. Someone from the Second tied our hands and legs together. They grabed us, forcing us down the stairs in a doorway off of the big room. They threw us into a chaimber at the bottom made of grey cement, with no windows and only a few torches. I managed to slump myself agenst the wall, and Reyna followed suit.

"Well," she said, "This sucks."

"I agree," I said, and I ment it whole-heartedly. "But hey, at least we got Octavian." I said, grinning. Reyna laughed.

"Yeah... I guess."

We sat in silence for a minute, lost in thought. We had failed. I would bet money that our team failed. In fact, I bet we would hear the horn signaling the end of the War Games any time now. It was just like any other Games, but this time it felt different, like we actually had a chance, and blew it.

"It wasn't all bad," Reyna said in the silence.

"What do you mean? We didn't get the flag, we failed," I said.

"Yeah, but have you guys ever had a real plan before? I mean besides just trying to fight your way through the opposing team," Reyna pointed out.

"No... I guess not," I realized.

"Jason... We can do this. We can turn this whole thing around. The two of us."

"The two of us...?" I asked not sure what she ment as she seemed to had done all the work. All I had done was get us to the top.

"The two of us," Reyna confirmed. In the distance I heard the horn blow once. Victory for First, Second, and Third.


End file.
